Stolen Family

 

Stolen Family by Lisa Regan
4/9/26; 424 pages
Bookouture
Detective Josie Quinn #24 

Stolen Family by Lisa Regan is an exceptional, very highly recommended crime thriller/procedural. You won't want to miss this absolutely un-put-downable 24th book in the Detective Josie Quinn series! Seriously, I had to stay up late to finish Stolen Family. At a certain point in the gripping plot it becomes impossible to not keep racing through the pages while your heart is pounding.

Denton, PA, is having their first Balloons and Tunes Festival which seems to be wildly popular and will hopefully become an annual event. Detective Josie Quinn and Detective Kyle Turner are called to a glamping site at the festival where Maxine and her teenage daughter Haven Barnes have been found murdered and left with white-tipped blood-red camellias laid on their bodies while other flowers are scattered across the room. Turner admits he recognizes Maxine from an earlier spousal abuse incident. As the team is investigating,  a report of another suspected missing mother and daughter is called in. 

The missing are Danielle ‘Dani’ Schwarber and her sixteen-year-old daughter Cassidy and the same camellias are left behind. Even more shocking is that they are Kyle Turner's estranged wife and daughter. Now the clock is ticking to find who abducted Kyle's family and hopefully find them before anymore lives are lost. 

As expected, the writing is superb. The plot is fast-paced, complicated, immersive, and riveting, due to both the investigations and personal interactions. The tension keeps rising right up to the action-packed conclusion. The procedural part of the narrative is excellent with all the clues logically followed and leads investigated. Complicating everything is the personal connection to Turner.

I continued to enjoy all the realistic interaction between the characters. All the characters are portrayed as fully realized individuals with strengths and weaknesses. Josie's personal life is going well. Her husband, Noah, is back at work while still recovering emotionally from a previous case. Their relationship with Wren, the teenager they are custodial parents too, is making progress. Kyle Turner is the character with the most development. He is known for being disagreeable, lazy, and all-around unlikable. Now we are introduced to a different side to his character. 

Although this is the 24th book in the series, Stolen Family could be read as a standalone novel, however, knowing the history of the characters will make it a richer reading experience. There is enough of the backstory covered that new readers can follow along and appreciate this latest thrilling procedural.

Stolen Family is a exceptional crime thriller/procedural and is a perfect choice for everyone following the series. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series! Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.